Jules' Twelve Days of Christmas

Hello everyone,

Just a little note to tell you about a fun little game that Jules is having over at

The House of Hearts

I have had so much fun playing along.

She stumped me well and truly on two images but once I realised they where not what I was thinking they were, I got it.

 Anyway pop on over and have a look and play along.

 

 

talk soon

x joy

Merry Christmas

Hello and a hearty Merry Christmas to you all,

I am a little late with my greetings but better late than never.

It has been a busy few weeks here in Smithville

(although I am sure it has been busy for everyone, everywhere)

 

So we have spent a lovely Christmas, with family and all of our favourite foods and traditions. I think I must be a few kilo's heavier but I have a smile on my face hehehehe

 I love Christmas goodies yummo!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

fruit mince tarts, rum balls, apricot balls, shortbread, baked ham, turkey . . . . . . .

 yummo I could go on, and on

 Brussels sprouts (yes I love them) crunchy roast potatoes, caramelised carrots

plum pudding

I love it all and even after eating way too much of it all I am still not sick of it  

hehehehe guess what is for lunch again today

yep!

all of the above again

 

Anyway I hope that you have all had a lovely Christmas.

I have been thinking a lot about all of the people who are doing it tough this year. Particularly those in Sandy Hook America, who have lost all of those precious little ones. I can only imagine what heavy hearts they have and my prayers are with them. And then there are those in the UK with all of the floods there. I hope everyone stays safe.

Oh dear, you really have to count your blessings and be thankful for all that you have. 

 

Ok well now I will show you some of the stuff that I have been up to, in between celebrating Christmas and some study. Do you remember my Christmas card that I shared with you a little while ago? Well I was chatting with my lovely Sister about Christmas cards and I mentioned that I was doing a blue card as this years card and she reminded me that I had in fact already done a blue Christmas card. Yes I could remember that I had done a blue themed card before but I wasn't sure when. And quick as a wink she messaged a photo of my 2007 card that was in fact blue . Hehehehe how was I supposed to know that someone was keeping track of which cards I sent hehehehe (isn't it nice to know though that someone does keep your cards and remembers them).

 

Ok well just to keep her on her toes I decided to whip her up a special card to make sure I had not done one in the same colour before. And what better way than to make a rainbow card:

 

It is exactly the same as the blue one only made up with small pieces of rainbow papers. Complete with rainbow gems. I really love it! But couldn't of made all of my cards like this, as it took quite a bit more time than the blue ones.

 

 I inked up the stampin' up sentiment with markers to get the rainbow effect.

 

 

Then I wanted to have a go with my Stampin' Up happy family set, for some token gifts for my nieces and their families. Here are what I came up with: 

 

 This one was a special one for a friend of my nieces husband who insisted I make something for him as well hehehehehe.

 

And finally here is my first ever attempt at icing a cake - Oh by crikies I might leave that to the experts - it's not as easy as card making. I had icing sugar everywhere!!!!!!!! I kid you not - everywhere!!!!!!!!!!

It is meant to look like snowflakes on a bed of snow hehehehe

it does look nice in real life

but I think I will stick to card making hehehehe

 

 

Ok well that is it for me. We just had some visitors leave this morning so I am off to go wash sheets and towels and do a little house work.

So I will catch you all later.

Talk soon and take care

x joy

A Christmas Snowflake or Star

Hello and a super happy Friday to you all,

It is a super happy Friday here in Smithville because I have finally caught up with my studies and have spent a very relaxing day with my lovely friend Leah catching up sitting out under the tree's at our lovely Daisy's cottage.

What a nice way to spend the day, then home to sit in the air conditioning - ahhh bliss!

Anyway as I said I have caught up with my studies so have had some spare time (in between house work hehehe) to have a little play. I should of been making Christmas cards but when I saw these little beauties over on Jim 'the gentleman crafter's' blog - I just had to have a go.
Jim called them snowflakes but I think they could be either snowflakes or star's. And just for the record if my memory serves me correct - I think snowflakes are 5 sided - aren't they?
I don't really know for sure because I have never (in my memory) seen snow :( - one day I will though!!!!!!!!!!!

 

How pretty are they - and oh so easy!!!!!

I ended up whipping up a couple. Firstly one out of plain old copier paper just to see how they went. It came out huge and will look great hanging from my high ceilings. Then I made two of these silver ones with the rosette centres ( one for Leah and  one for Benji's teacher). Pop on over to Jim's blog and see how we made them. He has a great tutorial video showing you step by step. I think they will be  a great project to do with the kids while they are on school holidays. Jim made them with 6 sides but I couldn't get them to sit right with 6 so I did 8. Anyway however many sides they have - they look soooo pretty.

Ok well I am off to go make myself a batch of my Mum's fruit mince ready for my pie making next week. OOOOOOhhhhhhh did I tell you how much I love Christmas? Yummy food, pretty decorations and sooooo much fun.

Ok talk soon

x joy

I am still alive

So sorry I haven't been around.

Click here to see what has been keeping me busy.

Hopefully I will be back and making cards soon.

talk soon

x joy 

More this and that

Hello and happy Sunday to you where ever you are in this wonderful world of ours.

I hope you are having a great day whatever you are doing.

I have achieved a lot today - getting some regular house work done, along with spring cleaning the kitchen cupboards, dinner already cooking away on the stove(hahaha - thats a joke in itself - see below for the full story), some study and some card making

WOW

all in one day!!!!!!!!

 

So I thought I would show you what I have done - well not everything - I'm sure you don't want to see what housework I have done (you probably have enough of your own) or my super, tidy, organised kitchen cupboards (I'm sure they only bring joy to me) anyway I will show you my card making. Firstly this is a Thank you card that I made for my lovely Maths lecturer last term. He is such a sweetie and helped me out when my brain didn't want to tick along nicely. I sent frantic emails on more than one occasion when I just couldn't work things out and I always got a phone call back within minutes of emails. How great is that. So of course I had to do a maths themed card - and this is what I came up with:

 

 

  Amazing what you can find on the Internet when you go looking, Cartesian plane, number lines and graph paper - perfect for a maths lecturer. Finished off with various sized star punches and dies and a sizzix die. I hope he likes it.

 And then I have started playing with my design for Christmas cards for this year. For anyone who knows me or comes visiting my house for Christmas knows:

 A. I LUV Christmas

and

B. knows that I collect JOY decorations - so how appropriate is it that I use my memory box bubble JOY die: 

 

 

 I have actually cased  this card from the lovely girls over at the Scrapbook Boutique Blog just changing it a little. I am into aqua this year as well - so thought I would do it in that. Although I ended up ordering 10 Tim Holtz Ranger Stonewashed paper by mistake so may end up doing it in that yet.

 

 

 And finally - look what I brought. I had nearly run out of all my colours of bling when I stumbled across these u-beaut giant sheets of bling at a cheapie cheap store (you know the ones with everything discounted). They are all joined together but I have been just cutting them apart with a scalpel. I have done a test for holding power and they seem very good and for only $3.99 (Australian dollars) whoopie whoop - how good is that!

 

 

Then I found these ones as well, which are smaller for $3 a sheet, in such pretty colours. Now I must give credit here to my lovely hubby because to tell you the truth - he actually found them. Stuck way down low where for some reason I never look - so Thank you honey buns.

 

And just to finish off - I will tell you a little funny about how dinner is on the stove already. I went rummaging around in the freezer last night looking for something for dinner tonight and I came across a leg of lamb (again if you know me - you know I don't like lamb) but I thought I would get it out and do a roast for dinner (I only eat the veges when lamb is on the menu - yukko). Anyway to my surprise this morning I discovered that what I thought was a leg of lamb - is in fact a ginormous bacon hock - hahahaha so consequently we are having pea and ham soup in summer for dinner. Oh well at least I don't have to smell that roast leg of lamb cooking in the oven.

 

Ok well I am off to see what else I can get up to today - I still have heaps more hours to get up to fun and mischief!!!

So talk soon

x joy



A little bit of this and a little bit of that

Hello and a super happy Tuesday to you.

Melbourne Cup Tuesday here in Australia - the race that stops a nation - it is even a public holiday here in Blackall. But I have had the boys home from school so no partying for me. Although they have both deserted me and headed to the local pool with their friends to cool off (can't say I blame them - it is hot, hot, hot here today).

So I am having a catch up on all the household stuff today. I am ahead in my maths studies after discovering that my first module was not due until this Friday, but I submitted it bright and early this morning. I have pottered with the text books today but really it has been a slow lazy day.

I got myself all in a muddle yesterday with an equation that made me think, spent several hair pulling hours on it. Finally emailed my lecturer calling for help, walked away from the books for less than 5 minutes and the solution came to me hahahaha. Frantic email to cancel the help alert to my lecturer and sat down and did the working out. Just goes to show that sometimes a break is the best thing to do (I'll have to remember that - but once I get going I am like a dog with a bone hehehehe)

 

Anyway here are a couple of photos to share with you.

These first two are some more sets of cards that I made for Gallery Day here in Blackall. Each pack contains five cards.

 

 

 This bright colour pack was my favourite and I also made two gold packs as well.

Then these are some of the flower brooches that I made. These are very popular and I sold some on the day that I was making them even before I had them packaged up.

 

 

 A couple of close ups - but please excuse the photography - they are a little out of focus.

 And finally I thought I would share a Halloween photo with you. Our local council puts on a special Halloween day here for the kids - they provide lots of lollies for houses that nominate and then us adults take the kids around following a list. Very safe and lots and lots of fun.

I look a bit stunned in the photo cause poor hubby hasn't mastered the camera yet and I am busy telling him which button to press - hahaha.

We had so much fun - we giggled the whole night.

And can you believe this is my 10 year old Benji with me in the skeleton suit - look how much he is growing. Both my boys will soon be towering over me! They definitely didn't get their height from me.

 Ok well that is all for now.

 I am off to have a lovely catch up on all my favourite blogs after we were away in Rockhampton last week.

Keep smiling

talk soon

x joy

Finally!

So sorry it has taken me so long to post again.

I promised my lovely friend Paula that I would have this up last week but have been playing instead - Sorry Paula - but here I am - Finally!!!!! hehehehe

 

And I am not going to muck around yibber yabbing - I will just get into photo overload for you.

This is the first of a few sets of cards that I am making for our local gallery day here in town next month:

 

 I have made these cards in a rainbow of colours and then put them in sets.

 This just shows you the detail of them.

 Red and Black are one of my most popular selling cards - so I had to do a red and black set.

 And this is how I have packaged them up - in a hand made card and acetate box, trimmed with rafia.

I am now working on a Christmas Wishes set and I am hoping to get a flower wishes set and some gift tag sets done as well. As well as having made 52 of the handmade flowers that I made on my last card for hair clips (just need to mount them up with felt, add buttons and attach to clips). So no rest for the wicked. Work, work, work is what I will be doing this week before Uni starts again next week.

 

So on that note  - no time for yacking I'd better go and get cracking.

 Have a happy, happy day

talk soon

x joy



Happy news in Smithville

Hello and a hearty happy Wednesday to you

things are on a happy, happy note here in smithville

see my Uni Blog here for details

I am one happy little vegemite.

I am doing the happy dance!!!!!!

talk soon x joy

Penny Black Saturday Challenge

Hello and a happy Saturday to you,

I am a super happy girl today because I get to play along with all the gang over at my favourite challenge site

 Penny Black Saturday Challenge

It is ages since I have had enough time on my hands to actually play along.

I keep updated on all the gang and see all the latest entries but get a little envious that I can't play - but today I got to play and now I am going to enter this months challenge. This months theme is a sketch by Helen:

 

 And here is my contribution:

  I have used my lovely prize from last year Penny Black - Sweet thing stamp. Best creation, A walk in the garden paper (how gorgeous is it) some bazzill. One of my new tonic punches, and my C.C. Designs sentiment and tag die. Finished with some home made fabric flowers, buttons, ribbon and glitter from my stash. These are the little flowers that I make for little girls hair clips - so easy but oh so cute. And they take next to no time at all to make.

The inside view.

And here are some detail shots:

A close up of the flowers - all three took me under 15 mins to make.

How beautiful is this stamp!!!!!! 

And here is a close up of the C.C. design stamp and die - very cute indeed.

Ok well I am off to enter the challenge and then I am making myself spend time crafting instead of "Pinteresting" (see my last post) I am addicted to it and have heaps of things in my must do list.

I hope you have a great day - cause I sure am!!!!

 Talk soon

x joy



Who is to blame for this?

 

Hmmmmmm - I wonder??????

Miss Leah - I do believe that you are the culprit!!!!!

Play time results

Hello and a super happy Tuesday to you - I have been playing in the craft room - yippeee - oh I have had so much fun - no dead lines to meet - just relaxing fun -  ahhhhh it's glorious and to top it off this is only day 2 of my holiday.

But I haven't just sat and played by myself (that sound's terrible - but you will see what I mean) I have had some inspiration from the lovely Therese from over at Lost in Paper.  

I follow Therese on her lovely blog and she has inspired me to buy a chevron die from die namics after I saw this card she had created:

 

Isn't it just sooo lovely!!!!

I fell in love with it and thought what a great idea it would be to case this card and be able to use up all of those 6 x 6 paper pads that's I have floating around (believe me I have hundreds of them) so case it I did - I hope that is ok Therese. And here is my result:

As you know - I never copy any ones work completely just use the original for inspiration - but I just couldn't deviate too far from the original as I love it so much!!!!! I did change a few things - like working with a square card - as I prefer square (more room to play). And my little bee already had some of his flight path already stamped so I just added a few extra dashes.

Here's the inside view:

 

 

Then I also found this card Therese had :

Another gorgeous card!!!!

Again a great way to use up bits and bobs of card - so I had a go at this one as well - talk about a copy cat! This is my effort - but before you have a look be warned as my card contains

 butterfly overload

hehehehe - I got carried away and ended up with nothing like Therese's classy card. I don't do classy very well hehehehehe

There are butterflies everywhere - crikey - I think I like the original better. Anyway I had fun - and that's what counts. Here is the inside view:

 And detail:

 

So a huge big Thank you to Therese for the inspiration and I hope she doesn't mind me casing her gorgeous work - pop over to Lost in Paper and have a look at the fantastic cards she makes. The videos she does are great - whenever they arrive in my inbox - I save them for a special occasion when I have some spare time to sit and watch them carefully.

 

Stay tuned because I have some more stuff I would like to try in the next couple of days.

Have a lovely afternoon

talk soon

x joy

 

Jules fab candy

Just a quick post to show you a fabulous candy that Jules has up for grabs.

I have been admiring Jules bling on her cards for ages now and now we have the chance to win one -

 

Thank you so much for the chance to win Jules 

I have had loads of trouble uploading this image into my side bar so thought I would just shout it out from here.

Pop on over to Always with a heart here http://jules-alwayswithaheart.blogspot.com.au/ to have a look.